1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera module for mobile communication terminals, and more particularly to a camera module for mobile communication terminals having an image capture device and an LED (light emitting diode) for emitting light to a subject, wherein the image capture device and the LED are integrated with each other, whereby a space required for installing the image capture device and the LED is considerably reduced.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable devices, such as a mobile communication terminal with a camera mounted therein, a PDA (personal digital assistant) with a camera mounted therein, etc., have been developed and widely used as media for transmitting moving image information. The camera mounted in the mobile communication terminal or the PDA is a commonly used camera, which is operated on the basis of general principles for cameras. Specifically, the camera for the mobile communication terminal or the PDA has an image capture device mounted therein. In the image capture device is mounted an image sensor for receiving light from an external source of light to recognize the received light as an image.
In order to satisfy various desires of consumers, the camera for the mobile communication terminal or the PDA has a lens macro function enabling the camera to take a photograph at a short distance or a digital zoom function enabling the camera to enlarge a desired portion of the photograph, which has increasingly become one of the important functions of the camera.
In addition, the camera for the mobile communication terminal or the PDA preferably has a flash function enabling the camera to take a photograph in the dark or at night, which is a universal function already provided by an analog or digital camera.
Consequently, it is essential that a mobile communication terminal or a PDA designed to provide a photographing function in addition to a primary communication function for transmitting moving image information be equipped with an image capture device for recognizing an image and a LED for emitting light to a subject so that a photograph of the subject may be taken at night.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional mobile communication terminal with a camera comprising an image capture device and an LED serving as a flashlight mounted therein. FIGS. 2a and 2b are a plan view and a longitudinal sectional view showing the image capture device of FIG. 1, respectively, and FIGS. 2c and 2d are a plan view and a longitudinal sectional view showing the LED of FIG. 1, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional mobile communication terminal 1 is equipped with a camera 2 having an image capture device 10 for capturing an image mounted therein, and an LED 20 for emitting light. The LED serves as a flashlight when taking a photograph at night.
The image capture device 10 mounted in the camera is connected to an image capture device connector 17 via a FPC (flexible printed circuit) 16, as schematically shown in FIG. 2a. The image capture device 10 comprises: a housing 11 having a space 12 defined therein; a camera lens 13 disposed to the upper part of the housing 11 for focusing an image; and a PCB (printed circuit board) 15 for supporting the housing 11, as shown in FIG. 2b. To the middle upper surface of the PCB 15 is mounted an image sensor 14. The image capture device 10 is connected to the image capture device connector 17 via the FPC 16. The image capture device connector 17 is connected to a motherboard (not shown) of the mobile communication terminal.
The LED 20 is a diode for emitting, as light, excessive energy generated when electrons or holes implanted using a p-n junction structure of a semiconductor are recombined. The LED 20 has several advantages in terms of processing speed, power consumption, and service life since the LED 20 is a kind of semiconductor. Furthermore, the LED 20 has high brightness, and thus also serves as a lighting apparatus.
The LED 20 is electrically attached to the PCB 23 by soldering, as schematically shown in FIG. 2c. The PCB 23 is connected to a LED connector 25 via a connection wire 24. Inside of the LED 20 is disposed a chip (not shown) for emitting light when electric current is applied to the chip. To the bottom surface of the LED 20 are attached a negative lead 21 made of a conductive metal for applying electric current to the chip and a positive lead 22 also made of a conductive metal for applying electric current to the chip. The negative and positive leads 21 and 22 are electrically attached to the PCB 23 by soldering. The LED 20 is connected to the LED connector 25 via the connection wire 24. The LED connector is also connected to the motherboard of the mobile communication terminal 1.
In the mobile communication terminal 1 with the above-stated construction, an electric signal is applied from the motherboard of the mobile communication terminal 1 to the PCB 15 having the image sensor 14 mounted thereon via the image capture device connector 17 and the FPC 16. The image sensor 14 recognizes an image of a subject on the basis of the applied signal.
When a flash is required for taking a photograph at night, a flash signal is applied from the motherboard of the mobile communication terminal to the PCB 23 via the LED connector 25 and the connection wire 24, and the LED 20 emits light forward on the basis of the applied signal. Since a subject is illuminated by means of the LED 20, a photograph of the subject can be clearly taken by the image capture device 10 even at night.
However, the conventional mobile communication terminal 1 having the camera mounted therein with the above-stated construction individually requires the image capture device connector 17 for transmitting an electric signal to the image capture device 10 and the LED connector 25 for transmitting an electric signal to the LED 20. As a result, a space required for installing the image capture device connector 17 and the LED connector 25 is large, which makes it difficult to properly arrange the connectors 17 and 25 in the mobile communication terminal.
Furthermore, the size of the mobile communication terminal is increased since the connectors 17 and 25 are disposed in the camera module mounted in the mobile communication terminal, the cost of manufacturing the mobile communication terminal is also increased since the connectors are required individually.
FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a conventional mobile communication terminal 30 with a camera 32 rotated as a camera hinge unit 31 is rotated. The mobile communication terminal of FIG. 3 is a folder-type communication terminal 30 with a camera 32 mounted therein. The camera 32 is attached to the camera hinge unit 31 so that the camera 32 can be rotated when the camera hinge unit 31 is rotated. The mobile communication terminal 30 with the rotating camera 32 has an advantage in that the camera directly faces the subject by rotation of the camera hinge unit 31, and thus it is not necessary to direct the mobile communication terminal 30 toward the subject.
As described above, the mobile communication terminal 30 is separately equipped with the image capture device connector and the LED connector, which requires a large space for installing the connectors. Consequently, the camera including the image capture device for capturing an image is mounted to the camera hinge unit 31, and the LED 33 for emitting light to a subject is mounted to some place other than the camera hinge unit 31 (a folder hinge unit in the case of the mobile communication terminal of FIG. 3). When the camera hinge unit 31 is manually or automatically rotated toward the subject, the camera 32 including the image capture device, which is mounted to the camera hinge unit 31, is rotated simultaneously with the rotation of the camera hinge unit 31 so that a photograph of the subject can be taken. However, the LED 33 is not mounted to the camera hinge unit 31, to which the image capture device is mounted. In other words, the LED 33 is fixed regardless of the rotation of the camera hinge unit 31. As a result, the direction in which the LED 33 emits light is different from the direction in which the camera 32 faces the subject. When a photograph of the subject is to be taken with the mobile communication terminal including the aforesaid camera at night, the angle of the mobile communication terminal must be adjusted so that the LED 33 is opposite to the subject, and then the camera hinge unit 31 must be rotated so that the camera 32 is also opposite to the subject. Consequently, the conventional mobile communication terminal having the aforesaid camera does not enjoy a technical merit that a photograph of the subject can be easily and conveniently taken simply by rotating the camera hinge unit 31.
Even if the image capture device connector 17 and the LED connector 25 are mounted together into the camera hinge unit 31, the arrangement of the connectors 17 and 25 is very difficult since the camera hinge unit 31 has a very small space, which increases time and cost required for mounting the connectors into the camera hinge unit 32.